20110817 1251 Global Market & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS-Asian shares fall, euro shaky after summit let-down
SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Asian shares fell on Wednesday and the euro wobbled after French and German leaders failed to deliver a solution to the euro zone debt crisis and restore investor confidence after a global market rout.
"Investors have been dumping emerging markets stocks across the board for the first time in the post-Lehman era," said a market report from TrimTabs Investment Research. "Investors are selling Asia without discrimination."

Oil falls as euro zone worries remain
LONDON/NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Crude oil prices fell on Tuesday after a meeting between French and German leaders failed to ease concerns about the euro zone debt crisis.
"It doesn't look like the two biggest items were seriously discussed today -- the potential for a euro bond and the size of the stabilization/bailout fund," said Edward Meir, senior commodity analyst for MF Global in New York.

U.S. crude stocks post small build, gasoline drops - API
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude inventories rose unexpectedly last week due to a surge in imports while product stocks fell sharply, despite refiners processing more oil, the American Petroleum Institute industry group said on Tuesday.
Crude stocks rose 1.7 million barrels, compared with analysts' forecast for an 800,000 barrel fall. Crude imports jumped 489,000 barrels per day to 9.68 million bpd.

POLL-U.S. crude stockpiles seen down on lower imports
BANGALORE/NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. crude oil stockpiles are expected to have fallen for a second straight week due to lower imports, an extended Reuters poll showed on Tuesday ahead of weekly inventory data.
Eight of 13 analysts polled expected a drop in crude stockpiles for the week to Aug. 12, with the average forecast a drawdown of 800,000 barrels.

US gasoline demand tumbles 4.6 percent-MasterCard
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. retail gasoline demand fell sharply last week from year-earlier levels, marking the largest weekly drop in 17 months despite falling pump prices, MasterCard said in its SpendingPulse report on Tuesday.
U.S. gasoline consumption has languished throughout the summer, slowed by high prices in another sign the U.S. economy is struggling.

Confidence in oil tanker market at all-time low-Frontline
SINGAPORE, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Confidence in the crude oil tanker industry has tumbled to an all-time low, with a growing number of shipowners mulling whether to pull their vessels from the market, the top executive of the world's largest independent tanker operator told Reuters.
Economic turmoil in the West and slowing global oil demand growth have pushed tanker market freight rates, already struggling with a supply glut, to unprecedented lows.

NYMEX-Natgas ends down for 3rd day, milder forecast weighs
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - U.S. natural gas futures ended lower on Tuesday for a third straight day, as extended forecasts for the Northeast and Midwest continued to trend milder despite lingering heat in Texas and the West.
"Milder temps are coming in so there's less cooling demand, and economic indicators are not great," a Pennsylvania-based trader said, adding prices broke below $4 support this week but could hold in the $3.90s until Thursday's inventory report.

Euro Coal-Oct DES trades at $125.75, down 25c
LONDON, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Prompt physical coal prices softened by around 25 cents a tonne on Tuesday after a day of thin trading.
"It's been fairly flat all day, not a lot of movement on oil, and the general turmoil seems to have calmed for the time being," one end-user said.

COMMODITIES-Gold charges higher on euro zone fears; oil down
NEW YORK, Aug 16 (Reuters) - Gold rose for a second day in a row on Tuesday after French-German proposals for the euro zone debt crisis failed to ease investors' concerns, driving down oil prices.
"It (the Sarkozy-Merkel news) is going to put worries back into the market about the euro and euro zone that may have been quieting down. It's going to add additional volatility into the gold market," said Frank McGhee, head precious metals trader of Integrated Brokerage Services in Chicago.